Apple filed an appeal over the European Union’s $587 million fine on Monday – escalating a showdown over enforcement of a sweeping antitrust law targeting Big Tech firms.
EU antitrust regulators slapped Apple with the first-of-its-kind fine in April after finding CEO Tim Cook’s firm prevented rival app developers from quickly steering customers to services outside its App Store.
“We believe the European Commission’s decision — and their unprecedented fine — go far beyond what the law requires,” Apple said in a statement.
“As our appeal will show, the EC is mandating how we run our store and forcing business terms which are confusing for developers and bad for users.”
Apple was fined under the EU’s Digital Markets Act, which labels a set of Big Tech firms, nearly all of them American, as internet gatekeepers subject to special restrictions aimed at boosting competition.
The fight over the EU’s fine could further complicate an ongoing trade dispute between the Trump administration and European officials. As The Post has reported, President Trump and his allies have accused the EU of unfairly targeting American tech firms with massive fines that serve as a de facto tax.
Last month, Apple revamped its App Store rules in Europe in a bid to avoid further daily fines over non-compliance with the strict EU rules. The company had been criticized for years for charging steep commission fees of up to 30% on all transactions within its App Store.
The changes included offering a tier-based commission fee system for app developers, where Apple would charge 5% or 13%, as well as a standard 2% user acquisition fee, depending on whether they wanted more promotion or feature support within the App Store.
Apple said EU officials mandated the tier-based structure, even though it has argued it is more complicated and confusing for app developers and users.
Apple also alleges that EU regulators unlawfully expanded their definition of “steering” – or allowing developers to redirect users to make transactions outside of its App Store – by claiming that the company should include third-party promotional offers in addition to linking out to external websites.
Critics say the App Store changes still aren’t good enough to address competition concerns.
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Tim Sweeney, the CEO of “Fortnite” maker Epic Games and an outspoken Apple critic, was among those who blasted its latest rules for third-party developers.
“Apple’s new Digital Markets Act malicious compliance scheme is blatantly unlawful in both Europe and the United States and makes a mockery of fair competition in digital markets. Apps with competing payments are not only taxed but commercially crippled in the App Store,” Sweeney said.
Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta was also slapped with a $230 million in April for forcing Facebook and Instagram users to choose between seeing ads or paying to avoid them.
Meta has similarly denied wrongdoing and said last week that it would appeal.
